Promotional materials for the animation “Strange World” from Galapagos Films
Walt Disney Animation Studios has accustomed us to surprising, awe-inspiring and imaginative scenery. Zootopia, Arendelle and Kumandra are places where our imagination came to life, and we wanted to believe in each of the fantastic adventures experienced by the characters of the beloved animations. But none of the previous films has presented a reality as unobvious and at the same time as complete as The Strange World . The beautiful scenery in which the characters move makes an amazing impression, and the gradually explored world that we discover together with the members of the expedition surprises with the richness of forms. The titular World turns out to be both a metaphorical representation of the real world – the Earth, and a perfect reference to unknown worlds straight from Jules Verne’s novels.
Promotional materials for the animation “Strange World” from Galapagos Films
Although this Strange World will turn out to be the key and most surprising hero of the whole story, the latest Disney animation is primarily a story about a family and the complicated relationships between its members. Legendary Clans – fascinating explorers – set off to an unexplored land full of dangers in the company of the mischievous Glutek and the three-legged dog Typhoon. This world, although it can really surprise with its strangeness, is in fact a perfect metaphor for the Earth, and the image of the characters’ relationship with the surrounding reality and with each other is something in which we can perfectly see ourselves. As film director Don Hall recalls:
It all started with thinking about my sons and the world they would inherit. How is it different from what I inherited from my dad? How can we be good ancestors to those who follow them?
Hall, who grew up as a farmer’s son, brings a lot of his own experience to the story. He also admits that for years he dreamed of telling the father-son relationship in a film. At the base of the whole plot is the theme of the family – representatives of three different generations, each of whom is looking for his own place in the world. Oskard is a brilliant explorer who discovered a plant-based energy source as a teenager and quickly got a statue in his honor, but at heart he remains a humble farmer. His father – Jaeger wanted to become an explorer, about whom legends will be created, at an early age. A monument was also built in his honor. The team is completed by Florian – Oskard’s sixteen-year-old son. Gifted with a sense of humor, the teenager is happy and hardworking, but he is not sure if he would like to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Promotional materials for the animation “Strange World” from Galapagos Films
Don Hall developed the idea for the film with his proven collaborator – Qui Nguyen, a screenwriter with whom he previously made the extremely successful film Raya and the Last Dragon .
I was surprised when he said he wanted to make a film about fathers and sons,” recalls Nguyen. “ I am also a father of two and felt that this was exactly what I wanted to do. This is the story I needed and wanted to tell. We can identify with both Jaeger and Oskard when it comes to our children. There is friction between ambition and career and being a dad. This is something that almost everyone here at Disney Studios understands well – everyone who is chasing a big dream. In fact, the main reason we do this is because of our children. This is the story I’m going through, the story Don’s going through, and the story our heroes are going through.
Perhaps the Clans’ greatest discovery is finding the key to their relationship. What the future holds for them and what their journey means in a broader context.
It all starts with how we see ourselves in our family, we take responsibility – we are listeners and part of something bigger than ourselves – says Jake Gyllenhaal, the voice of Oskard in the original language version. – The microcosm of the family, understood in this way, affects the macrocosm of the world. How we treat the environment is fundamental and we cannot dismiss it. So I think this film is largely about how we treat the spaces we live in.
Finally, it cannot be denied that Strange World tells a beautiful, multi-layered story in which, through family relationships and exploring the unknown and surprising world at every turn – the metaphorical Earth – we come into contact with the titular strangeness on several levels. Because after all, what can be as beautiful and as interesting at the same time as strangeness?
Promotional materials for the animation “Strange World” from Galapagos Films
The movie Strange World debuted in theaters on November 25, 2022. It will be released on DVD on February 15.
